Sustainable Living Before The Crash

Chris Martenson, a former science professional, gave up his large home and high-status job for a rural life where he began sounding an alarm on economic dysfunction by practicing sustainable living.

Why a conservative economist moved to the country…

Martenson says, “I’m absolutely mathematically certain about this, that if we do not willingly, on our own terms as a nation, get our debt levels under control, eventually, those chickens will come home to roost.”

Anticipating the financial turmoil ahead, Martenson paid off all his debts, bought a rural home and land, bought gold, built a sustainable lifestyle, and is sounding an alarm that rejects most of how America has been going about its business.

Martenson says, “What is wealth? When I say wealth, sometimes, people think money, but money is not wealth. It is a way to store wealth. Primary sources of wealth, that would be rich soils, a thick stand of trees, rich fishing waters, (etc..) That is primary wealth.”

These are the kinds of investments that make a lot of sense, because they’re tangible, we understand them. It’s different than sending your money off to Wall Street and crossing your fingers and hoping for the best.

Unfortunately, the main-stream has brainwashed people into thinking that this kind of mindset is crazy, as exemplified by a comment from Martenson’s wife, “The hardest thing about the transition was explaining to people in my family and my community what we were doing, because they really thought we were crazy.”

In his own life, Chris says he’s cut hies standard of living in half and has doubled his quality of life. “I’m not saying everybody should do that or I’m admirable because of it. But I have learned that we can do things far more efficiently and effectively and have better outcomes. And why wouldn’t we do that?”

I have no affiliation with Chris or his website, Peak Prosperity, but I believe what he has done is a good example for the rest of us. He put his money where his mouth is and changed his life. My hope is that more people will consider the same…

Many people have already viewed Martenson’s ‘Crash Course’, but if you have not, I do recommend it. The Crash Course seeks to provide you with a baseline understanding of the economy so that you can better appreciate the risks that we all face.

9 Comments

“I’m absolutely mathematically certain about this”. He is right. I do believe it is possible for us to get out of this mess but it would take sacrifice that most Americans wouldn’t accept and most politicians wouldn’t dare say outloud. So yes we will crash or have already crashed and are simply covering up the effects with massive borrowing and printing of money. The coverup cannot last. This is like a massive game of musical chairs with 310 million Americans playing but there are very few seats that will make you safe when the music stops. It will be a disaster. But there is good news too. The stores are full of food that is still relatively affordable and our propped up dollar will still buy the cheap food and other necessities. Silver is at $20 an ounce, not “cheap” but it could be at $50 soon and some pundits predict $200 before this slow motion disaster ends. Take advantage of the lull before the storm to prepare. Vote in the next election, if there isn’t a good candidate then at least vote out the jerk in office if he contributed to this mess. Get ready, we are living in interesting times and it is about to get really interesting.

You are exactly right, and that is EXACTLY what has been going on since the ’08 crash. A coverup. Nearly everything economic today is manipulated, and therefore not real. Some of the sheeple are slowly waking up to this, while most of us here have known it for quite some time. This will not end well. This is why seeking a sustainable living lifestyle will save some people after the crash. But they need to develop it before the crash…

And yet I don’t have the balls to do it. I’m a city boy my whole life and I am a big fan of Chris. I believe him when he says he’s mathematically certain about this and yet I show up for work as well as my wife with our comfy 9-5 jobs, 3 kids, 2 dogs.

It takes big cojones to do what Chris did so I admire him even more now. Hopefully I can muster the courage one day before this disaster drops.

It is not just the debt. It is much more fundamental than that; it is the “low hanging fruit” principle, the law of diminishing return, and the exponential function.

Our entire society is based on cheap energy. But cheap energy is gone and we only have energy remaining that increasingly costs more and more to acquire, not just in money terms, but in terms of how much energy that must be expended to acquire new energy sources. The cost to acquire energy keeps doubling. For example, the cost to acquire oil has followed an exponential function that doubles that cost every 23 to 25 years. That means that each year out of each barrel we now find we have less to fuel economic activity after we pay that increased costs, and that leaves less energy to fuel industrial production unless we can find more energy at a faster and faster pace. We simply can’t outrun these cost increases, and the result is that we are entering a period of long term economic contraction against a backdrop of increasing population. We might be able to conserve at first to deal with the coming scarcity, but that conservation will progress into deprivation and deprivation will ultimately result in death for the majority.

This is not some far off science fiction; this is the reality we are facing. Martenson understands this and is taking action to increase his survival chances.

We do not have an energy crisis. We never had an energy crisis. And, we shall never have an energy crisis. The cost, and availability, of energy is a matter of deliberate Government control over it. Government WANTS high energy costs, and it makes sure it gets what it wants. Government WANTS your electric bills to soar, a gallon of gas to be $5 bucks, and wood burning stoves and fireplaces made illegal. Actually, we have more oil than we know what to do with..more coal than we know what to do with..and more hydro-electric capability than we need. It’s not IF we can get energy, it’s a matter of IF they let us get it. Government is closing power plants, not building them. Preventing new refineries. Preventing pipelines. Closing coal mines. They tell you it’s for your own good,that they are trying to save us from the horrors of Man caused climatic disaster! But, they are just screaming, “Global Warming!,” as the excuse to extend their power over the means of production, to limit our mobility, lower our standard of living, impoverish us, and loot the private sector.

I am well off at the moment living in the Urbans. I am prepared for the worst and live for my best. I am wondering. Should I take a life changing career move to better myself and say screw life I’m going after a dream and then save my income from my new lifestyle and move off grid. Am I making sense? Or is it too late in most eyes to say, go get that dream (that will only take me 7-10 years to obtain With my wealth, I’m 44 tomorrow) or, do what my Worldly man says and just prepare to bug out or in and do my best to last as long as I can and never get up or get out of what I am in today.

Thank y’all in advance and I do love this page and the like mindedness.

I don’t think you have to buy 5 acres and build a retreat or fortress. If you have a good job and good income I say keep it. But do somethings that will allow you to hedge your bet. Have enough money/PMs/resources so that if you lost your job tomorrow you could afford food and necessities and keep your home. If you live in a town that could be dangerous in the event of civil unrest then move to another location that is safer for you and allows you to keep your job. Store food, have alternative ways to purify water, cook and heat your home. Pay off your home or sell it and buy a home that you can afford to pay off. Plant a garden and some fruit trees on your property. Cut your expenses so you can save more and use income to prepare for hard times. You can do a lot of things to prepare without giving up your life. Consider buying a piece of property in a more remote and probably safer area where you would go if things got really bad. Use it as a camping/vacation spot. Place some resources there, and perhaps put in a garden and develop a water source/well. Set up a trailer pad with septic for a travel trailer that you could bring with you or leave it there if it was safe to do so. You could make this location your retirement destination and use the time available to you to improve it and make it “yours”. It is important to remember that an economic collapse could happen suddenly and soon. Or maybe things might just drag along for years. Also even though it is an economic collapse that is predicted who knows what that will bring; world war, foreign invasion, interruptions in imports of essential things like fuel and goods. This could simply be a bad recession or a series of dominos with one disasterous event after another. Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

If your home is paid for then when the dollar crashes and the economic collapse occurs, how can one pay their property taxes??
Better to use those funds to buy food, supplies, water purifiers, solar panels, ammo with weapons, on and on…
100,000,000 will NOT be kicked out of their homes because the good ole boy sheriffs probably owe for theirs also.
Invest in life-saving preps.

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